Q: Hello everybody and welcome to the show! We’re here at the Random Ideas Podcast with Fabi, a writer who’s bored of regular writing formats, how’s it going there?
A: All good for now, thanks for having me!
Q: Absolutely, pleasure is all ours. Do you want to start by telling us a bit more about you and this idea that you had?
A: Alright! So basically I’m a half-and-half milk carton. I like sciency stuff since I’m a chemistry undergraduate, working in IT now, but I also love fiction writing, music, theatre and a lot from the arts. You can get to know me better in my About page but yes, that’s a good summary.
What I was thinking of, let’s call it a thesis, that I’m trying to test against opinions from others. It’s this: adapting or having to adapt is always a net positive. I say thesis in the logic and debate sense, not that I think my opinion has been peer-reviewed as in scientific journals’ idea of a thesis.
Q: Good to know! And I see how you’d think this is a great idea to talk about, given that you’ve changed careers so drastically and you’re working without a degree in your new place of employment, am I correct?
A: That’s right. And that’s just it—I originally wanted to talk about something else. All my latest posts in the blog were either complete fiction, or fiction based on something that happened to me, so I originally sat down with the intention to post a reflection of sorts.
When I turned on the laptop, I had AI in mind. We’d been using it a lot at work, I’d also used it to plan for stuff and purchase things, and even for creative writing as a critic and editor of sorts, so that’s what I wanted to discuss. But any time I tried drafting the text, I noticed that the AI was just the excuse, while the actual substance of the text mutated into this other topic, about changing and adapting. I guess it’s because AI makes changes smoother and that was what I’d been doing, but I decided to find out what I thought about changing, it was more interesting.
Q: So the text itself was changing as you wrote, how prophetic of a story. You should note that down as a fiction of its own! If I may stray a bit from the point, however, how did you realize that this was the core of the article? Did you just stop at a word and the thought came to mind, did you analyze it after the first draft..?
A: It’s an organic thing in a way, but indeed it was after re-reading. I am always taking note of stuff to write on my blog, of course work and the daily life is what you can usually draw from if you’re uninspired—
Q: —right.
A: —then I sit down after the first sessions of free writing or brainstorming, to try and make sense of the text and give it some form. In this particular case, I had attempted to write three times, so I was looking at chunks of disconnected drafts, each taking something I had gone through as an example to showcase how AI had helped. I set out to find a pattern to write about, maybe, but that’s when I had this other thought.
The first draft was about a trip to Mexico, I wanted to visit a friend and had made preliminary plans to go on a certain date. She then told me she’d be busy then, but turns out the new (later) date is not only cheaper, but more interesting stuff is happening in her city by then, which I’ll be there to see. Then I had another draft about using AI at work; I thought it was lame when the policy to use it came into effect, but it saved me a lot of effort, I’d come to rely on it actually. And third, another text was about the writing process—I’d wanted to draft a story but had to take a bus and left the laptop at home. But using the phone and AI, I brainstormed so many interesting ideas, I’d have tons of new stories to write when I got back.
Q: So everything was about the benefit of adapting, and you found your opinion piece.
A: That’s right. I feel blessed daily, like, stuff happens to me that I don’t expect and it’s always something that makes me happy. I wanted to see if I was particularly lucky in how events unfold in my life, or you know, maybe adapting is a net positive for everybody. Since writing an article about the matter is the best way to find our your opinion on something, that’s what I did.
Q: Solid choice, and thanks for the lovely explanation! Now ending our detour, let’s go back to the idea itself.
You say that adapting is always positive. That’s a very daring proposition, considering that there’s not one person in the world who hasn’t had to go through great pain in their lives, and emerged changed after enduring it. You don’t want to adapt, sometimes you’d just wish that you didn’t have to go through hardships and live a peaceful life. So what’s the reasoning there?
A: That’s an excellent question and you have precisely described what I think. The core idea here is that because we have the human perspective, then growth can’t come without obstacles—obstacles are what take you out of routine and into the unknown, and that’s where the new things have space to develop.
Q: No matter that the circumstance goes to worse?
A: That’s right. If you look through the human lens, a breakup, a loss of a job, even a death of a loved one. Every single one of the situations that you need to adapt to, mean that you learn how to cope with that situation, granting you skills that help you nurture something beautiful back into being, be it a new relationship, a new job offer, a birth, anything that you create afterwards.
Q: That sounds pretty reasonable, but you mention the human lens. What about an objective point of view? Say, a situation that has no net positive where you can absolutely, no doubts about it, assert that you’re all the worse for it and have to adapt? Is that still a score for you?
A: Yes, but the trick is to look at the timeline. A bad situation is bad only relative to the previous one, yet if you check the long-term picture it can mean that adaptability will transform it into a better one that you wouldn’t have had access to, had the worse one not come to happen. Think of it this way—if milk had never gone bad, then we would have never discovered yoghurt.
Q: It’s a lovely analogy, I’ll grant you that, but I’m skeptic on the real-life applicability. Can you show me a concrete example of the net positive? Say for example that you got two Uber drivers. One of them drives a new, comfy car with air conditioning, power steering, a fast engine, and the other has a very old, broken car that can barely move through the street. If you had the new car and have had to adapt to the old car, how is that a positive?
A: It depends on the person, but the successful people are those who can produce similar results, with some leeway to account for the tool. Yes, a comfy, faster car will make the job easier, but if you are able to satisfy your customers and still get the job done well despite the circumstance, that just means that the difference is due to your skill, does it not? So if you are the owner of a luxury cab service, would you rather hire the guy who is fast because he has a fast car, or the one who is fast because he clearly knows the city and the fluctuations of traffic? Imagine what the second guy can do with the car from the first one!
Q: Ah, so adapting can fail.
A: Absolutely! I don’t mean to say that it’s easy, but if you can keep moving forward, willpower and the ability to be flexible keeps you valuable. Being resourceful is often the only skill you need to succeed, both professionally and in society as a friend or partner.
Q: I hear you. But something comes to mind, we’re ignoring another option when considering these scenarios.
You’re saying that when adapting happens, then it’s always a net positive because the act of adapting gives you “character development”, let’s say. But that is assuming that the change was unavoidable like the examples we mentioned. What happens when not adapting— or rather, not going through the event that forced you to do it— is what upskills you further? Aren’t there situations where you can learn or benefit more from staying right where you are?
A: That’s an excellent point. I’m thinking of the writing process, for example. Sometimes I sit down to write and get something of a writer’s block. I could go for doing something else to adapt to the block, or push through, which is basically what I do until the mere act of typing already makes my creativity go out again after a while. But that’s the thing—by pushing through, I made a conscious effort to go out of the “I can’t think of anything good to write” mentality, into another one that’s more useful for me. I still adapted, and still wrote the story like I intended.
Q: Oh, so what you’re saying is that life will find a way to challenge you no matter what you do? So the only difference between staying or pursuing another path, would be the time it takes and whatever it is that you learn while overcoming the obstacle.
A: Indeed, which brings me to another idea, that you should seek this change on purpose. Nothing is stopping you from reacting to change instead of actively looking for opportunities, I guess, but there’s one life and the more you learn, the more you enjoy. It’s like the hero versus anti-hero situation, so be the hero?
Q: That sounds amazing when you put it like that. So if you don’t mind me asking, how do you become a hero yourself? If I remember correctly, all three examples that you gave earlier follow the anti-hero framework, where something external pushed you to do it. Like your trip to Mexico, it wasn’t you who were looking to learn things, it was your friend’s agenda being full.
A: Ah, I didn’t say that I was applying my own advice! I am finding out my opinion as I go, anyway!
Q: Do as I say, but not as I do.
A: That’s it! No, but in all seriousness, again let’s look at the sequence instead of the isolated picture. It’s true, had my friend been available when I originally wanted to travel, I wouldn’t have noticed that later in the year there were some extremely cool things happening which I’d have missed. But the actual idea of doing the trip came entirely from me, so I forced change by choosing to go. I’ll tell you about it, actually, since it’s a great example.
Q: Go on then, that’s why we’re here. I love when guests do my job for me. I don’t have to think of any questions.
A: There you go, you’re already adapting! Alright, so you should know that I’m the opposite of an adventurous guy. I hate taking risks and everything in my life reflects it—I’m very organized, I invest very conservatively in low-risk low-reward funds, I think very hard before any relatively major purchase. And of course, traveling alone to another country and spending thousands of dollars on a whim is not compatible with that.
What happened was that I basically listened to the “voice of random” in my head. I was at a huge party, three friends from uni were turning 30 and had decided to celebrate at an awesome place with pool and whatnot. Someone was asking me about my friend from Mexico, we concluded she was great, and I ended the conversation with an “yeah, I should visit her sometime”. Dudes at the party all agreeing and we moved to another topic.
But that must have stuck with me, since a few days later I woke up thinking about that phrase. I was turning 30 too, how would I celebrate? What about a trip to finally meet her in person? So I didn’t think too long, just picked up the phone and looked up plane tickets to Mexico. Right there I messaged her, said “we got to talk” and I guess I “got engaged” with the trip, in the sense that I knew she’d get excited, and now there was no way I could back down from the idea.
Q: Yes, I hear that’s very common when trying to start up a habit, I remember reading it in a book. You promise something and the mere thought that there’s someone out there keeping count, will be a higher motivation than what you can come up with alone.
A: Exactly, so basically I put myself in a place that was scary to me, and I know for sure that I’m gonna enjoy the hell out of it, learn a lot in the process, and emerge better. It was all decided after listening to the voice of random, one morning like any other.
Q: So that’s your strategy, you enjoy random and know that adapting and learning hides behind. Do you think everybody can apply this same advice? To make use of this idea that we’re discussing, about growing through change.
A: I mean, I can only know what works for me. I won’t claim to be a scientist, so perhaps since we are all so different, then maybe there are other ways to go about this that work better for others. Like, what if you don’t get those random thoughts? Or what if you get too many of them, and get tangled in a never ending loop of trying too much stuff?
I could see some people moved by others, so perhaps when they want to change, they ask their loved ones for advice on what to do. Or people driven by work, so they could take on additional responsibilities or get a side gig that they think might be fun, while still earning them money. Perhaps somebody who’s too lazy to reflect, they could basically take what someone else is doing and just copy it, which will also force them to adapt. There are no rules for this.
Q: Basically try until you find something that works, then repeat and enjoy the experience.
A: Works for me!
Q: Alright, I think that we can wrap it up here. It was certainly an interesting topic to discuss, wish you all the best in your future endeavors and hope to read more stories that came from random in the following months! Thanks for stopping by.
A: Thanks for having me!
Q: This was Random Ideas Podcast, brought to you by a delusional writer impersonating two people for fun. See you soon, and have a good one.